Eshek had a little black shadow of her own - his name was Kier-kun, and he was the worst thing to ever happen to her. That included death. Ever since he'd arrived with his father and two siblings from some unknown hell-hole a week or so ago, he hadn't left her alone about the possibility of social advancement. She'd thought she'd be safe for the next two weeks once she returned to DayClan - but no, he'd followed her here.

"Come on," he purred in that slimy little voice of his. With everyone else he was cunning and tactful; but with her, he seemed to just let every ruse drop and get straight to the point. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he didn't respect her. "I'm sure if you just spoke to the Warden he'd let me be his aide de camp. Or his secretary. Or his advisor! I can massage his shoulders after a long day, clean his claws, be privy to all the private information of the League-"

"No." Eshek sped up, trotting quickly through DayClan's forest to try and lose him.

"Please."

"No." She sped up more. But for his little size, he was full of stamina, and even though he had to sprint to keep up with her long legs, keep up he did.

"What do I have to do to convince you I'm a worthy investment for the future of the League?"

"Die." She veered around a tree trunk, and then veered straight back, making him down an undignified little zigzag to avoid her and almost fall over his own paws. But he quickly righted himself.

"Oh, come now," he purred silkily, running close beside her and smiling up at her, much as she tried to lean further and further away, "why are you always playing hard to get?"

"Why are you always being just the worst," Eshek grabbed his shoulder - and shoved him into a stream, "little gremlin I've ever seen?" She shouted the last part down at the water. For a second, she was excited that he'd drowned, taking a step closer and peering over the bank, her eyes darting around wildly as an open-mouthed grin started to spread across her face. But then the little bat-eared rat popped his head back out of the current, gasping for breath.

"Oh, god DAMMIT!" she shrieked, and kicked a tree. Kier paddled to land, struggling to keep his pointy little chin above the water, and dragged himself out. His short black fur clung to his skinny body, accentuating every rib, and water fell in rivulets around his paws. He stood there, shoulders hunched, and glared resentful poison at the Proxy as he began to shake from the cold.

That was when, almost at the same time, they noticed the two toms digging around for bugs. For a long moment they just stood there, Kier dripping water onto the bank and Eshek with her forepaw frozen where she had raised it to kick the tree again, before finally Eshek exploded into action, slinking over to the amber-brown tom. "Oh, you're Sean!" she greeted, slinking a quick circle around him and chirping a cheerful "hi" to the hamster on his head before sitting down in front of him like a hunch-shouldered lioness. "Seen, not Shawn," she laughed. "I've wanted to meet you for forever. I'm Eshek. Well, Carriondare is what DayClan knows me as. I get there's, like, some drama between the two sides of the families, but honestly if I tried to keep up with all the Eeries I'd go insane... -er." She laughed again. "I'm a friend of your nephew's."

"And I'm-" Kier began.

"I don't know him," Eshek interrupted, not taking her eyes or her smile off Sean.

While Eshek fangirled over Glowstar's brother, who Kier had no idea about, he slunk over to Kotori and sat down heavily next to him, the two black (or mostly black) toms looking almost like twins. "You guys eating bugs?" he asked, in that sort of tired casual voice that came from your mom meeting someone in the grocery store aisle and you knowing it was going to be a long wait.